The beginning of Ishqbaaz is why I'm so emotionally invested into this series. And although I love old IB with all my heart, I respectfully disagree with the opinion that it was necessarily better. (Btw, this totally a rant of my own opinions and feelings - also very long no TLDR for you.)
Even the OLD IB was flawed. A character's portrayal was betrayed from the beginning. The reason the O'Bro bond was so special was because of how fragile and toxic the family was. The parents didn't mind breaking the house for a batwaara. The show shouldn't have turned into Hum Saath Saath Hain. Pinky was the money-loving, obsessive mother of Shivaay. Janvi was the alcoholic mother of Omkara, Rudra, and Priyanka. Tej was a ruthless businessman with a mistress and mountain-sized ego. Shakti still is a mysterious character, but he had a dark past which has been ignored. If you can't tell, that's completely changed now. Pinky turned sweet and became bffs with Janvi, who magically stopped drinking. Tej and Shakti somehow start getting along. A broken family whom three grandsons upheld, but whose chosen heir would destroy it. That's what made the O'Bros seem so necessary. They upheld their fragile family with much angst. That's why the chose not to have a sole heir to the Oberoi family and that they share it together, to spite their parents (mainly Pinky and Tej).
The whole Ishkara track ending was one thing. However everything after the ONS MU being cleared is messy. All the characters start to change again. This entire Nafratbaaz track is so irritating because the main characters can't even stop them. The villains are actually winning, and it's not because they're good, it's because no one is smart enough. It did seem TRP based. And I'm not just saying all this because how much this track has been dragged.
First this pregnancy drama, then the saas-bahu drama, and all these attacks and blackmailing was so unbearable to watch. Suddenly, all the Tejvi development is nothing, Pinky has become insecure/jealous of Anika's worth in Shivaay's life, Tej is jealous of Shivaay for surpassing him, Anika has become an emotional crybaby, the O'Bros aren't telling each other there secrets, and the worst is the lack of logic and dot-connecting that would have sorted out this mess. Why would Omkara want to rape Svetlana? What kind of backward logic do you need to get to that conclusion? Mrs. Kapoor has been blackmailing Shivaay, why doesn't he realize all these attacks could be directly related to her since she still wants ShiTia to be together? In fact, whenever an MC gets proof against Nafratbaaz, it somehow never works. The show is literally working against the main characters to put them in this situation. Where did the Rumya video come from, who recorded Omkara raping Svetlana, who tried to kill Anika? And most importantly, why were we getting romance during this whole thing? That was a waste of time if it was going to go to crap anyways, they could have used that time to sort out problems, but no, Anika play hide n' seek with Shivaay.
That's because we know that Dil Bole Oberoi will start and the vanvaas will begin. I'm fine with bad things happening, but I feel like it's happening because the characters are not using their brains. It's so clear that these misunderstandings and problems aren't going away anytime soon, but I wish that the situation going wrong didn't feel so forced.
And you know what, Nafratbaaz in a whole isn't a bad plot point for me personally. It makes sense, but how they initially portrayed the characters could've been better. I just wish they didn't skip over how Svetlana and Roop knew each other. That was interesting, but I would have loved to see more.
I assumed Svetlana was just a gold-digger that was after Tej's money and not him. So I didn't really need her backstory. But after she started working with Roop, I assumed she would've had a big reason. I even liked Tia despite how annoying she could be. She was spiritual, apologetic and an overall a kind-hearted person. However we all knew she was going to be out of the picture eventually. I wish Tia could have been the better version of Lavanya from IPKKND. Lavanya wasn't bad, but she was exactly the match for Arnav. That's why I love the Dushyant plot twist. I wish Tia stayed good. And even Romi didn't make sense either. If she was after Rudra, then her playing hard to get is smart since she needs to attract him to her, otherwise Rudra's playboyness would dump her eventually. However the Devi nonsense was unbearable to remember if she is a sane Nafratbaaz Kapoor. If it was her plan to justify why they get married maybe, but it just gives me michmichi.
To be honest, I don't even mind how Omkara changed. It seemed so realistic for Omkara to have become a stone to fight Tej. What I dislike about that is it breaks the initial character he was and what his opposite lead is supposed to be (Ishana). In a sense, it took away from the originality or unqiueness in Omkara's lovestory. I knew that all 3 of the lovestories were going to be hate-turned-love, but I liked how unique it was as to how it got there.
They didn't need to add the Nafratbaaz to drag Ishqbaaz. The 3 lovestories in themselves would've have been enough to drag the series for a year if they were smart, excluding villains plotlines. Plus I felt like Priveer was perfect slap to Shivaay for his transgressions during the marriage fiasco. If Shivaay's NKK wasn't so against Dev, maybe Priyanka wouldn't have had to marry Ranveer. And maybe a plot point could be that Priyanka would become motivated to stand up for herself against Ranveer and be the Great Wall of Priyanka to show her growth. In truth, Shivaay's ego/pride could be blamed for Priyanka's current problem.
In fact, I wanted a Ishqbaaz vs. Nafratbaaz showdown so bad. Shivika, Omri/Ishkara, and Rumya vs. Rotilana. I wanted moments between Anika, Gauri/Ishana, and Saumya. I wanted a O'Bahus moments to parallel O'Bros. I wanted to see a chemistry between the 6 main characters and them not acting as 6, not as 3, but as 1. To protect the Oberoi family, to protect their family. Nafratbaaz winning wouldn't be bad, but I want Team Ishqbaaz to come back and strike when Gauri officially enters Ishqbaaz. (This is why I was almost okay with Nafratbaaz. The title seems good too.)
I can't really do anything though. I just wish Ishqbaaz could still be the breath of fresh air it once was. I dunno, those are just my emotions though. Sorry for length. My emotions are still not fully expressed.
P.S- I'm not disagreeing with you. I love old IB too.
Edited by LordLuminous - 9 years ago
Anupamaa
Health and Fitness
